Airbyte is an open-source data integration engine that has been enabling businesses to process their data effectively since 2020. Its fast growth has been fueled by a growing community of contributors who develop and maintain over 550 cloud-native ELT data connectors. In 2022, Airbyte implemented a cloud solution with a pricing model that differentiates between databases, APIs, and files.
While Airbyte provides extensive connector development kits and custom transformations, working with its connectors requires significant technical expertise. Additionally, the platform is not user-friendly, making it challenging for non-technical users to integrate data with it.
These are some of the core issues with Airbyte, and they may be the reason why you came here to look for Airbyte alternatives.
Read on as this guide provides an overview of Airbyte’s top competitors, comparing their features and pricing to help you choose the right data integration platform.
Why look for Airbyte alternatives?
Based on our research and user feedback, many have chosen to switch to Airbyte competitors because of the following reasons.
- The limited error-handling capabilities of Airbyte do not meet your needs and often lead to delays and disruptions, especially after an update.
- You can only transform data after loading it, which limits flexibility because there are no preload transformations.
- You are spending a lot of resources and time training your staff on how to use Airbyte, making you seek a more intuitive data integration solution with a minimal learning curve.
- You are trying to add another data source but have found that the additional connector is only available with an upgraded plan. Therefore, you look for a more affordable alternative like Windsor.ai that starts at just $19/month.
Most users we’ve spoken to say their main reasons for seeking an Airbyte alternative are poor customer support, a very complex interface, especially for non-techies, and expensive pricing plans.
If you’re also looking for a better solution, here’s a snapshot of the top Airbyte competitors to consider:
| Airbyte | Windsor.ai | Supermetrics | Adverity | Fivetran | |
| Free trial (no talking to sales) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Starting price | Custom | $19/month | $29/month | $500/month | $500/month |
| G2 review score average (1 to 5 stars) | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Number of connectors available | 550+ | 325+ | 176+ | 600+ | 500+ |
| All connectors available on all pricing tiers | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Data mapping feature (creation of own metrics and dimensions) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free forever plan | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Unlimited users on all plans | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Use of all destinations with all plans | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Looker Studio connector | Yes, but only 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes, but only 1 | Possible through the data warehouse |
| Power BI connector | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tableau connector | Yes | Yes | Possible via API | Yes | Possible through the data warehouse |
| Google Sheets plugin | Possible as a connector source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Excel integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Possible through the data warehouse |
| API access starting price | $15 for a million rows | $19/month | Enterprise plan only (talk to sales) | Starting from $2000/month (talk to sales) | $500/month |
| Security features | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SOC2 Type 2 compliant / Single sign-on/MFA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Database destination features | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing based on row counts | Yes | No | Yes | No (you only pay for unique rows above the purchased bandwidth) | Yes |
| Starting price for data warehouse transfers (BigQuery, Snowflake, Azure SQL/blob, Amazon S3, MySQL, and PostgreSQL | Based on volume | $19/month | Enterprise plan only (talk to sales) | Starting from $2000/month (talk to sales) | Based on volume (active rows) |
Now, let’s take a detailed look at the key features of each platform and how they compare to Airbyte.
Windsor.ai – Top 1 Airbyte competitor
Windsor.ai provides all the essential ELT data integration tools to sync data from 325+ sources (marketing platforms, eCommerce websites, CRMs, and business apps) to various destinations, including BI and data visualization tools, databases, data warehouses, data lakes, and more for reliable storage and in-depth analytics.
Additionally, Windsor.ai offers an API that seamlessly integrates with Python and a convenient query manager, allowing users to preview data before transferring it to a warehouse or analytics tool.
What makes Windsor.ai the best Airbyte alternative are budget-friendly pricing plans starting at $19/month, a user-friendly interface suitable for both expert data engineers and non-techies, and transparent pricing with no premium connectors or hidden fees.
Key features of Windsor.ai:
- Provides over 325 connectors and 17 data destinations
- All data destinations are available at all plans
- No premium connectors; you get access to all data sources and destinations even with the free plan.
- Database destinations are not based on the row count
- SOC 2 Type 2 certification with SSO and MFA support
Pricing
- Free Plan
- Free Trial – 30 days
- Basic Plan – $19/month
- Standard Plan – $99/month
- Plus Plan – $249/month
- Professional Plan – $499/month
- Enterprise Plan – custom quote
Windsor.ai connector has flat pricing with clear advantages for upgrading to a higher plan. We make it easy for organizations to determine what plan they need based on their data analytics and other data management needs.
Windsor.ai vs. Airbyte
Scalability
While Airbyte allows scaling, it becomes increasingly complex as you start using more data sources and destinations. Its custom connectors require extra resources and technical expertise. In contrast, scaling with Windsor.ai is seamless—simply upgrade to a plan with the advanced tools you need and benefit from them immediately, without any hassle.
Customer service
Many users have reported frustrations with Airbyte’s complicated dashboards and poor customer support. Windsor.ai resolves these two pain points. You can start using our pre-built customizable dashboard templates with just a few clicks, eliminating the complex technical setup. We also provide round-the-clock live chat assistance, minimizing disruptions and keeping your workflow smooth.
Fixed pricing – no volume-based charges
Another key distinction is that, unlike Airbyte, Windsor.ai has transparent pricing and does not charge based on the number of rows transferred. This makes the Windsor.ai platform cost-efficient for organizations handling large-scale datasets, ensuring predictable costs without unexpected fees.
Supermetrics – Top 2 Airbyte Alternative
Supermetrics is a popular data integration platform originally designed for marketing analysis, enabling users to integrate their data for a holistic view of business performance and prevailing trends.
Like Windsor.ai, it strives to provide as many connectors as possible in one intuitive dashboard so that organizations can easily transfer data from marketing and e-commerce sources to BI platforms, spreadsheets, and databases.
It’s good to note that this ETL solution has demoralized schemas to reduce complexity when joining tables.
Key features of Supermetrics:
- 176+ connectors and 10 destinations
- ELT functionality is available on standard plans
- Pricing is not based on the row count
- Organizations must be at the Enterprise Plan to transfer data to databases
Pricing
- 14-day free trial
- Google Sheets connectors: $29/month
- Looker Studio connectors: $29/month
- Microsoft Excel connections: $29/month
- Power BI connectors: $29/month
- Databases, BI platforms, and API: Contact sales for a custom quote
Like Windsor.ai, this platform has flat pricing for most of its services. The only disadvantage is that they do not bundle most of their connectors, which means that organizations looking to use several connectors would have to pay more. Still, it’s cheaper than Airbyte when transferring large volumes of data to databases.
Supermetrics vs. Airbyte
A cheaper and more intuitive solution
Supermetrics is a cheaper Airbyte alternative, especially for small businesses that need one or a few connectors to transfer data to specific destinations. It’s user-friendly and has a straightforward pricing model. However, be sure to verify whether the connector you need is actually available, as we’ve found that some connectors listed on their website are missing.
Flat pricing for databases
Supermetrics also beats Airbyte regarding the cost of database data transfers, as it offers flat pricing. Using Airbyte is reasonable if you wish to use various connectors regularly, but going with Supermetrics is preferred if you need bulk data transfers to a data warehouse.
Adverity – Top 3 Airbyte Alternative
Adverity is a premium data transfer tool for advanced visualization and analysis. It provides 600+ connectors, allowing you to transfer data to 30 destinations, including BI tools and data warehouses.
Adverity’s clean layout and user-friendly features are suitable for beginners. It seamlessly integrates with popular marketing data tools and offers premium customer support. All this makes Adverity a proven choice for organizations looking to extract data without investing heavily in an internal technical team or program management.
Key features of Adverity:
- Over 600 connectors to 30 data destinations
- Integrates with popular data-generating tools and warehouses
- Offers data modeling and transformation features
- Supports native two-way connections for easy navigation
Pricing
While most of Adverity’s offers start at $500/month, you can get a custom price based on the number of connectors you need and the target data destinations. You should also remember that exceeding the number of data connectors, volume, or destinations beyond the set monthly bandwidth incurs additional costs.
Adverity vs. Airbyte
Pay for what you need
Adverity offers clients more flexible pricing plans based on the number of required data destinations, connectors, and volume. However, while Adverity’s pricing plans are more expensive than Airbyte, you can still get the connectors you need at a lower cost.
Affordable plans for high-volume data
Adverity is most suited for medium and large organizations with extensive data needs that want to benefit from automatic data transfers. It’s a more cost-effective solution than Airbyte’s volume-based plans.
Fivetran – Top 4 Airbyte Alternative
Fivetran is a cloud-based integration tool for businesses of all sizes. It has been in the market since 2012, and today, this prominent ELT solution provides over 500 connectors to 15+ destinations.
Key features of Fivetran:
- 500+ data connectors and over 15 destinations
- SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications
- Data processing locations and use SSH tunnels for encryption
- Premium plans offer high-volume database connectors, the ability to choose your cloud provider, and premium support for sensitive and protected data
- A 14-day free trial and a forever free plan with limited features
Pricing
Fivetran offers five pricing plans, namely:
- Free
- Standard
- Enterprise
- Business critical
- Private deployment
Fivetran vs. Airbyte
Elaborate pricing schedule
Fivetran’s elaborate pricing schedule clearly shows the features users will get in each tier, making it easy for organizations to determine which features to use.
Premium support for specific data types
Fivetran supports organizations looking for specific features not available in Airbyte or premium support for critical data transfers. It is also suitable for data types that require extensive transformations before reaching the warehouse.
What is your best Airbyte alternative pick?
There you have them—the top 4 Airbyte alternatives for your data integration tasks.
Take time to see if your chosen connector solves the issues that you were facing in Airbyte. To choose the best data connector service that meets all your needs, compare pricing, features, security, available connectors, and ease of use.
We believe that Windsor.ai provides the ideal balance of features and pricing, offering all the essential tools you need at affordable rates for businesses of all sizes.